Magic Prague! Mystical Prague! Everyone is delighted with the city and screams about their love for the Czech capital. But we didn't like her - we have 7 serious accusations against her. Find out from our review what Prague really is.
I have long dreamed of a trip to Prague, especially before Christmas. I read in blogs and online magazines about how beautiful and wonderful the city is, how everyone falls in love with it and returns many times. I read that the atmosphere of a fairy tale, mysticism, magic hovers in Prague. I met a lot of beautiful and loud words, and even more - gorgeous photos. But ... in reality, the city disappointed.
So, our 7 reasons not to go to Prague. We ask you not to throw stones in the comments, these reasons are subjective - we do not dissuade you from going to the Czech capital, but tell you what we didn’t like. Moreover, we also have 7 reasons to go to Prague. Read both notes and decide for yourself which is more - good or bad.
1. Architecture is not impressive
We expected to see many old medieval buildings, especially Gothic ones. However, in the Old Town and Mala Strana, baroque predominates, and in residential areas, buildings are built like in St. Petersburg. Sometimes it seemed to us that we were back in St. Petersburg - the Zizkov and Prague-2 districts did not differ at all from it. Moreover, in the descriptions of Prague you can often find lines about the atmosphere of the Middle Ages and other pathos. Where is the medieval atmosphere? We have not found.
And how funny it is to read guidebooks stuffed with pompous phrases about the magnificence of Prague sights and compare them with reality. It seems that they were written by exalted people (well, or at least idealizing everything around).
We cannot say that everything was not impressed. We liked Prague Castle, Zizkov, Old Town Square with the Tyn Church and some other sights, but this is not enough! Absolutely disappointed with the Old Town.
2. A LOT of tourists
Hustle, noise and din. It is impossible to view buildings without bumping into someone. If you want to stop, shake your head so that no one bumps into you, because everyone walks with open mouths. Do you want a beautiful shot so that there are no Chinese posing? You will have to sweat, choosing an angle, or wait a long time until the entire crowd is re-photographed. Do you want to see a panoramic view? We need to stand in line. And we specially arrived in November, in the low season. What is going on here in the summer?
3. Center of Prague - a civilized bazaar
We have never seen such concentration of souvenir shops in any other European capital. Jewelry, scarves, souvenirs, mugs, nesting dolls, a sea of magnets, all kinds of rubbish. Some terrible vases made of Bohemian glass with vulgar tigers, wolves with distorted muzzles and other animals are worth something. The tents in the covered galleries do not differ from the Russian ones - it was as if we were in a subway passage. In general, by the end of the trip we were pretty tired of it.
4. Homeless people, beggars, living statues, levitating yogis
Homeless people and beggars in large numbers surprised us unpleasantly - it seems that even in Moscow and St. Petersburg you will not find so many. On the train to Kutna Hora, we rode with a foul-smelling drunkard in the same compartment. Thank goodness he got off at Colin.
There are many beggars: some solicit tourists, some in not very decent positions beg for alms. The latter are mostly young guys or middle-aged men in their prime.
A separate category is living statues, levitating yogis and other outdoor (we don't even know what to call it) entertainment. You walk through the European capital and feel like on the promenade in the Russian south. To the credit of tourists, they do not attract much attention.
5. You love animals
It is not pleasant to contemplate piglets roasting whole on a spit with their eyes gouged out. This was disgusting, even though we are not vegetarians. We understand that this is a national food and peculiarities, but it is hard to see such things - like, for example, fried dogs in the north of Vietnam.
6. People and service in establishments
Gloomy faces, sour displeased mines of passers-by. The waiters in the cafe look and voice as if they are mortally tired of tourists. It's curious what other foreigners think the same - we have seen many similar reviews about the staff of bars and pubs. We feel that the service in Russia is much better!
7. There is no notorious atmosphere of a fairy tale
As a consequence of all of the above, there is no authenticity and the very "atmosphere of the Middle Ages" in the city. Whether it is Kutná Hora, where we went for one day! We came to the conclusion that the capital should be bypassed, and next time we should arrange a tour of small Czech towns - and preferably in late spring or early autumn.
Conclusions and advice
For authenticity and that very atmosphere, you need to go to small old European cities. We recommend Tallinn! If you are interested in the Czech Republic, go to the province - Kutna Hora, for example.
If entertainment, a cultural program, an abundance of bars and restaurants are important - then, of course, Prague is for you. Just don't come with high expectations: Prague is the capital, so don't think of it as a small town frozen in time.
